Ambiente Opens Today

February 11, 2011, HFN Staff

FRANKFURT, Germany-The Ambiente trade fair, billed by owner and organizer Messe Frankfurt as the largest consumer goods show in the world, opens today.

Visitors from around the globe are expected to check out the newest trends and design directions here in Frankfurt. A first glimpse at tabletop introductions in the opening hours of the show revealed more decoration, more pattern, more color, and more gold and other metallic embellishment.

Stand-out introductions from some of the big brands here included an expansive range of decorated, unbanded bone china from Spode, Dawn Chorus from Portmeirion, several new Jasper Conran dinnerware patterns from Wedgwood (featuring textile inspiration and geometrics) and a new casual pattern called 1815 from sister company Royal Doulton.

Villeroy & Boch has expanded and enhanced its New Wave collection and has a new design called Amazonia, featuring brightly colored botanicals and a hummingbird. Vista Alegre introduced Silk Road, a sleek new porcelain dinnerware shape with a low profile, and, on the other end of the spectrum, Ornament, whose relief work depicts architectural details from old Portuguese homes. Italian glassware company Vetri Delle Venezie is highlighting new glass storage jars with a ruffled silicone trim in four possible colors; Trees, tree branch-inspired serveware made from a combination of glass and Plexiglas; and Antibes, a line of colored plates and tumblers with a quilted look in four colorways.

This evening, the International Housewares Association will host a reception at the Switzerland restaurant in Hall 4. Forty One Madison and GLM will co-host a party tomorrow evening at the Hotel Hessischer Hof, across the street from the Messe.